Embodiments of the present invention relate to assemblies for dissipating heat in electronic circuits.
Heat dissipating assemblies used with electrical circuits often include multiple layers of materials having high thermal conductivity for quickly removing heat away from the circuit. Multiple layers are required due to geometric, electronic, and manufacturing limitations for any single material. For example, an electrical circuit may have a complex shape with a complex heat profile, so the layer of the heat dissipation assembly connected to the circuit must be formed into a complementary complex shape to closely bond to the circuit at high heat-generating areas. Other layers of the heat dissipation assembly do not need to have a complex shape but must be able to dissipate heat quickly. The coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), the amount that the materials expand for an amount of heat applied to them, of these materials vary widely. The different expansion rates may result in the generation of high stresses, which may cause fractures in the materials or may cause the layers to separate. These fractures or separations introduce air into the heat dissipation path, causing heat to build up in the dissipation assembly, which may cause circuit overheating.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved heat dissipating assembly that overcomes the above-described limitations.